Hong Kong’s battered property market lures Chinese state buyers

As Hong Kong's commercial property slump drags on, Chinese state money has emerged as one of the few pillars of support.

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Chinese firms have become active buyers in the city's flailing real estate market, snapping up shopping malls and offices as local and international investors pull back.

While deal sizes are smaller than during Hong Kong's heyday six years ago, the purchases underscore the financial hub's increasing reliance on Chinese money.

China Resources Longdation, the property management arm of state-owned China Resources Holdings, has been buying retail space across Hong Kong, including a waterfront shopping mall for HK$540 million (S$90 million) in July and another retail podium for HK$310 million earlier in 2024.

China Resources Longdation also made a HK$9 billion offer for the Kll Art Mall from New World Development, local newspaper Sing Tao reported, in what would be one of the largest commercial property deals in 2024.

"The timing is good" to buy prime retail properties in Hong Kong because the prices are low, said Mr Tom Ko, head of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield's Hong Kong office.